Once in my office with the door closed, I called my lawyer. "So did she really have a signal jammer or did you hear the conversation?"
My lawyer laughed, "she really had a signal jammer. I heard you talking about going into her office, I heard you shut the door, and then the call dropped. Did you check the old fashioned recorder? People forget they don't work like cell phones."
"Let me check." I put my leg up on the desk drawer and pulled the old fashioned tape recorder from my thigh high trouser sock. I used this recorder years ago to record my transcription orders for the typist. It had been many years, I had to change the batteries, but I'd never been more happy to be a pack rat. I pressed 'rewind' and then pressed 'play', and sure enough, the conversation was quiet, because the quality wasn't as good as the advanced technology we have now, but it was still audible with the volume turned up. "Did you hear it?"
"Yes. Did she say enough to incriminate herself? Or was she careful?" my lawyer asked.
"Oh, I goaded her and her ego just couldn't help itself. She explained how she had pictures and that she blackmailed people into giving witness statements regarding my supposed inappropriate behavior. You wanna know the kicker?" I offered.
"Dare I ask?" He laughed.
"Dr. Kelly Adams actually agreed to let this all go if I married her. Can you believe the gaul of some people?" I shook my head at the bizarre turn of events that had just taken place.
"Oh my gosh..what did you say?"
"I said I'd do almost anything to keep my license to practice medicine." I sighed. Realizing it was almost 9AM, I explained, "I have to go. The board meeting is gonna start. I'll call you if I need you. Okay?"
"Hey Wam, don't let your emotions get the best of you. Stay calm, and stick to the plan. Okay?"
"Okay. We will talk soon. Thanks man!" I exclaimed and hung up the call. I had grown up with my lawyer, Craig, on the reservation. We both took school seriously, attended the same college, then he went to law school and I to medical school. It was nice having a lawyer I knew I could trust.
I opened my brief case, and placed my recorder that was now rewound all the way, inside. I turned my cell phone to silent, closed the brief case, and left for the meeting room.
The room was taupe colored with huge tables connected in the center of the room to make a rectangle. Luxury black leather desk chairs were provided for each board member.
I sat down by my placard and reviewed the new agenda that had been printed today. As I figured, there were addendums under 'fraternization' in addition to a line about 'proper etiquette' and what constitutes a 'conflict of interest for employees'. This should be a fun meeting. I noticed most of the controversial topics were up first on the list. The President was probably afraid those involved would high tail it out of there if they knew what was coming. Me, I couldn't wait to clear my name and prove how vile and evil Kelly Adams was.
I honestly believe the hospital and clinic programs would be better off without her as Head of Neurology, but I never thought I'd be involved in dethroning her. Under normal circumstances I may feel bad about what I was about to do. These…were not normal circumstances.
The President called the meeting to order and we were reminded why we were here and who we work for. After a few smaller topics were discussed, the President chose to bring up the huge topic of fraternization and what constitutes a conflict of interest. Every piece of our employee handbook that pertained to this topic was referenced and then read aloud. Finally he explained, "the Board of Directors received a complaint that we started a cursory investigation into and quickly realized it was a much larger problem than we could ever have imagined." The President sat back in his chair and perused the room before continuing to explain. "We found at least three employees, who have a genuine conflict of interest in businesses outside of ours that could affect their judgment as treating physicians or surgeons."
Many of the people in the room looked shocked and whispered to their neighbor. The President banged his gavel, "order, order. I will not have disruptions…" he looked at each member to assumingely show he was serious about order before continuing. "I know this may come as a shock to many of you and not a shock to others. I've been informed that at least one of our board members is included in this group of employees. Dr. Adams, what would you like to say about these allegations?"
No one would know she was just accused of misconduct if they hadn't heard the words from the board President. Dr. Kelly Adams had a big, relaxed smile on her face, hands in her lap with perfect red nail polish on each untwined fingernail. Her legs were crossed at the knee with her Louboutin heel swinging gently back and forth, drawing attention to her long, shapely legs on display below her skirt that ended just above the knee. "Since my lawyer isn't present, Dr. Eman, I'm afraid I'll have to defer my answer. We can certainly set a time when my lawyer is available to discuss this topic," Kelly's sultry, vibrato offered to The room full of board members.
Dr. Eman appeared unimpressed by her answer, studying her as if looking for a kink in her armor. "Dr. Adams, I'm trying to give you a chance to settle this before we take it to the police or the Board of Physicians. I guess if you want to play it official, official we shall make it. Considering the seriousness of the situation and the allegations against you, I'm asking the board to place you on administrative leave until we can complete our investigation. May I hear a motion?"
Everyone seemed to look at each other like they were unsure what to do. Board members were generally held to a higher standard, and the fact this had happened and gone unnoticed for quite some time, marred the reputation of the hospital and clinic system. That a board member was involved was a huge deal. "I..I..I make a motion that Dr. Kelly Adams be placed on administrative leave pending the completion of the investigation," Dr. Kahn said.
"I second the motion," Dr. McIntosh relied.
"I hereby have a motion that states Dr. Kelly Adams should be relieved from all her duties at this facility and all facilities owned or operated by this organization pending the results of the investigation. Discussion? Discussion, discussion. All in favor say 'aye'."
Almost everyone in the room said "aye," and received a death glare from Dr. Adams.
"All opposed, state the same," President Eman said.
Kelly Adams was the only one opposed.
"Please let it be noted that the motion passed with a vote of 11 to place her on administrative leave and 1 against. Dr. Adams, you are hereby relieved of your duties until further notice. Please exit the premises immediately." Dr. Eman pushed the buzzer for the door and as two Security Guards entered, he requested, "gentleman, please escort Dr. Adams from the premises. She is not allowed to take any of the papers from her office nor touch her computer. Dr. Adams, if there are specific items you need, please write them down, and I personally will see they are returned to you when available," President Eman decreed.
"There must be some mistake," Kelly exclaimed with her mouth open and eyes wide. "This cannot be happening. I've done nothing wrong. You'll pay for this embarrassment," she snarled and made eye contact with every board member at the table. "I'll see that every one of you pay for this. Mark my words!" The security guards moved up on either side of Dr. Adams to escort her from the room and the property.
Every board member except myself and the President of the Board of Directors looked shocked at what took place. Interestingly, no one said a word until the President said, "okay, where were we?"
I wanted my name cleared, and now was my chance. "President Eman, if I may..I know Dr. Adams had brought allegations against me, claiming I was inappropriate with a family member of a patient. I would like the opportunity to clear my name please. I have nothing to hide and assure you that I did nothing but helped the patient's twin sister be able to spend time with her brother. As some of you know, my family has a cabin here in Rochester, but our primary residences are in Red Wing. The sister could either leave her brother to go to work or she could quit her job and stay with her brother. Their parents are deceased, and they are each other's only living relative. I allowed her to stay in a guest room at my cabin while her brother was in our facility. I also set up a grant for families of trauma patients to allow her to have some money for meals, gas, et cetera while she was here with her brother. The grant was through Mark, the Social Worker and was supposed to remain anonymous. Somehow Kynlee, the sister, found out I was the one who funded the grant. As long as Kedron was here and I was a consulting Neurosurgeon on his case, we remained just friends, and I made that clear because there was definite...chemistry between us. Kynlee was quite distraught the night her brother was transferred. According to the twin brother, Dr. Adams had suggested that if he did not take the open bed at Renowned Rochester Rehabilitation, he may not get into the facility later. My impression was that Dr. Adams told Kedron this was the best rehab facility in the area and he didn't want to lose this chance." I looked around at the other board members and they all looked genuinely shocked by this information. I cleared my throat and once again made eye contact with President Eman. "I have in my brief case, a recording of my conversation with Dr. Adams this morning. Dr. Adams attempted to black mail me into not reporting her immoral and unethical behavior if I agreed to marry her." Gasps and murmurs could be heard around the table again.
"May I please play you the tape?" I requested.
"Actually Dr. Teton, that won't be necessary. I had a conversation with the young lady this morning. Kynlee spoke nothing but good things about you and said you had been a complete gentleman while her brother was hospitalized. She told me the same thing you just did. The only thing she added, was that she had been the one to instigate…advancing your relationship the night her brother was transferred. She admitted you had been very clear you could not work with her brother, if you were anything more than friends. I have no reason to disbelieve anything you or she told me. Since Dr. Adams is the one who filed the complaint and is no longer here to follow through with it, how about just myself and the officers listen to the evidence tape you have? There is no need for the whole Board of Directors to hear it." The President smiled at me before turning to the group and stating, "Let's take a 30 minute recess and reconvene at 12PM. All who approve, say 'aye'."
Everyone said "aye," and filtered out the doors for lunch.